The mothers of two UC Berkeley graduates held in an Iranian prison for nearly two years stopped eating Thursday and will drink only water in an effort to bring attention to their sons’ plight and hopefully bring them home, one mother said.

Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer, both 28, were scheduled to appear in a Tehran courtroom May 11 on spying and illegal entry charges but were not brought to court, and Iranian officials have not explained why.

The men, along with Sarah Shourd, 32, of Oakland, were arrested in July 2009 while hiking in Iraq’s Kurdistan region near the Iran border.

Shourd was released on $500,000 bail in September because she reportedly found a lump in her breast. She lives in Oakland, but travels much of the time working for the release of Fattal and Bauer, her fiance. All have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Bauer’s mother Cindy Hickey, 50, of Pine City, Minn., said she believes the men are not eating because they have fasted before to get other privileges, such as letters and phone calls. She is fasting along with Fattal’s mother, Laura Fattal, 58, of Elkins Park, Pa.

“Sarah has shared a lot with us about prison and (they) fasted together (at points). One discussion (in prison) was that if court did not move forward or they were not released they would hunger strike,” Hickey said. “I think they are desperate, I think they want anything.”

Hickey said she fears the men are not getting proper medical care and that their lives are in danger.

The last time anyone in the U.S. has seen the men was Feb. 6, when Iranian state-run media television cameras were in the courtroom for the beginning of the trial.

The trial was slated to resume May 11, but relatives got word from Swiss diplomats representing American interests in Iran that it did not happen.

“That’s very concerning, no one has seen them. Why weren’t they brought to court? Court is scary, but at least it’s something,” Hickey said. The men have not been allowed to speak with their lawyer.

Both Hickey and Fattal have described themselves as “strong women” and will fast as “long as we can,” Hickey said.

If they are called to Iran to aid their sons and are too weak to travel, there are other family members who can go, she said. Shourd will join the fast on Saturday, and others may join in coming weeks, Hickey said.

The fast coincides with the mothers’ anniversary of their brief visit to Tehran to visit their sons. Shourd’s mother, Nora Shourd, was also on that trip. That May 2010 visit was the only time Hickey and Fattal have seen their sons since their arrest.

The mothers last spoke to their sons by telephone in November.

“One year ago, as we were about to fly to Tehran, we learned at the departure gate that Iran had cut the length of our visit from the seven days we were promised to just two,” Laura Fattal said. “That’s just one example of the heartless pain all of us have been made to suffer because Iran has a disagreement with the U.S.”

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